Zacch Adedeji, executive secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, has said that the council, under his leadership is committed to implementing various measures that will make the Nigeria’s sugar sector globally competitive.
Adedeji who said this during an interview in Abuja explained that the sugar sector holds the key to unlocking the job creating potentials of the Nigerian economy.
The NSDC Boss said through the implementation of the Nigerian Sugar Masterplan, the Council had attracted huge investments into the sugar sector under its Backward Integration Programme.
He said, “The Federal Government, through the National Sugar Development Council is committed to building a globally competitive sugar industry that would boost local economy, provide jobs for Nigeria’s teeming youth population and position Nigeria as a net exporter of the commodity.
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“In our resolve to address the dearth of qualified indigenous manpower and professionals to drive the sugar industry, we established the now famous Nigeria Sugar Institute in Ilorin, Kwara state.
“The Institute has commenced the training of young Nigerian graduates both in field and factory operations through an exchange programme with famous sugar institutes like the National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, India as well as the Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute, in Mauritius.
“It is indeed gratifying to state here that Nigeria has since surpassed its sugar refining capacity, and our immediate action plan as a forward-thinking agency of government is to replicate the successes achieved in the area of refining in field operations, which we all know is the heart of the backward integration programme.”
He said the Council is working towards boosting local production of the commodity to meet local demands and possible export in the years ahead.
